The Week In Music: Britney Vs. Obama

Huffington Post has compiled a top 140 Twitter most-followed list and it's mostly good news for musicians, two of whom top the leader of the free world in Twitter followers. But while some of the highest-ranking music personalities are fairly predictable, the list shows a surprisingly democratic Twitter world, and one where you don't have to be the hottest name in pop culture to win fans. Britney Spears tops everyone with more than 5 million followers, and other major current music stars rank in the top 20, including Lady Gaga (No. 4), Taylor Swift (No. 8), John Mayer (No. 9), Coldplay (No. 17), Katy Perry (No. 19) and 50 Cent (No. 20). But the list also includes M.C. Hammer, who touches the list at No. 51, "Weird Al" Yankovic at No. 62, recent GRAMMY winner Imogen Heap at No. 123, and self-proclaimed avant-cellist Zoë Keating at No. 140. For the record, President Barack Obama lands at only No. 5, but that might be because it's tough to distill the 1,000-plus-page financial reform act into 140 characters.

Speaking of the financial reform legislation, which continues to limp through Congress this week, it comes with an entertainment-related note: Currently it would put a halt to proposed movie box-office futures trading if passed, according to the Los Angeles Times. The only other commodity on which futures trading is banned by law is onions. We think there's a joke in there somewhere, though it would be funnier if instead of onions the ban was on raspberries.

A new music video trend may have been stopped before it started. Instead of the usual humdrum video set, Snoop Dogg recently attempted to rent the entire country of Liechtenstein for his new music video. Of course, with an estimated population of just 35,000 and covering roughly 61.7 square miles, Liechtenstein is not entirely large. Unfortunately for Snoop the deal couldn't be consummated as his team "did not give enough time," according to a local property agent. The lesson? When looking to rent out Liechtenstein, get your request in a little earlier. Or, maybe try Andorra instead.

Police rushed to a Batavia, Ill., theater last week to halt the screening of a concert featuring performances by metal legends Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer. The theater's manager placed an emergency call after attendees started to get a little out of hand and police arrived to find damage including one broken seat, broken armrests and a small hole in the screen. On top of that, there was "a large amount" of alcohol beverage containers on the scene. Large amounts of alcohol, holes in the screen, busted chairs — now, that truly is metal. However, no one was arrested. Not very metal.

In other raucous news, the National's Matt Berninger was recently taken into federal custody on suspicion of terrorism at the Honolulu International Airport when he attempted to carry on a MacGyver-esque, bomb-resembling alarm clock that the indie rocker had purchased in Tokyo. We're not sure if this was more of an inconvenience for Berninger (who had to ultimately surrender the clock to the Transportation Security Administration), or the rest of the airport patrons forced to evacuate. "Suddenly I hear my name being called and my name's flashing on all the monitors," said Berninger. "I was kind of hoping that maybe I could finish this 15-minute massage chair thing first then realized that maybe I shouldn't."

Platinum '80s pop starlets Deborah "Debbie" Gibson and Tiffany are set to make mega-film history. The duo will battle it out in the upcoming Syfy original Saturday night movie, Mega Python vs. Gatoroid. Both are no strangers to film as Gibson previously appeared in Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus and Tiffany starred in Mega Piranha — but this is the first time the duo will appear in a film together. "I know that pop culture fanatics have been dying for Tiffany and me to collaborate for the past 24 years!" said Gibson. "What better way to do it than by battling each other in a campy romp through the Everglades?" No word on whether the film's mega climax will be set to "Lost In Your Eyes" or "I Think We're Alone Now."

U.S. News & World Report's June 28 story, "21 Things You Should Never Buy New," probably left a sour taste in the collective mouth of the entertainment industry and, well, most every other industry too. No. 1 on its list is DVDs/CDs. But among the other 20 buy-used-only items: books, video games, jewelry, furniture, cars, musical instruments, pets (we have a relatively low-mileage cat we're taking offers on), houses and consumer electronics. What should you never buy used? Not much of consequence beyond laptops and underpants according to a related article. The report doesn't suggest how the manufacturers and intellectual property owners of the above items are supposed to be compensated (or for that matter how an item never bought new becomes used…). Of course, be sure to buy your copy of U.S. News & World Report used.

Katy Perry's "California Gurls," featuring Snoop Dogg, is once again the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, and is tops on the iTunes singles chart.

The Week In Music: Twitter's Top Tweeters

Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry are among social media's finest

GRAMMYs

Jun 21, 2017 - 12:57 am

GRAMMY.com

When it comes to measuring the popularity of a musician or artist, there are many factors to consider, including such traditional yardsticks as album and ticket sales. But when measuring popularity in the digital world, one of the many factors to consider is Twitter followers. Twitaholic has compiled a list of the top tweeters based on followers, with musicians occupying seven of the top 10 spots. So who is your favorite 140 characters-or-less character? TWIM favorite Lady Gagais the Twitter queen, with 15.3 million followers, followed by fellow TWIM favorite Justin Bieber (14 million) and Katy Perry (11.6 million). Though not a musician but still worth mentioning as he's the Commander in Chief (and also a GRAMMY winner), President Barack Obama rang in at fifth place with 10.9 million followers. Other artists making the top 10 were Britney Spears (10.7 million), 2011 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Shakira (9.8 million), Rihanna (9.2 million), and Taylor Swift (8.8 million). You can also follow Lady Gaga on Nov. 30 as she's set to perform at "The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!!"

When thinking of sexy bedroom songs, what comes to mind? Perhaps Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing," Bad Company's "Feel Like Making Love" or Donna Summer's "Love To Love You Baby." The list could go on for days. But what about unsexy songs that turn you off? According to a survey of participants on music-based dating website Tastebuds.fm, there are a few artists who might be winning on the charts, but you wouldn't want to see in a potential mate's music collection. Coming in as the No. 10 musical turnoff is Britney Spears (apparently her slave offers weren't enough). Lil Wayne made the list at No. 9, Katy Perry came in at No. 8 (we guess she's not everyone's teenage dream), Creed were voted in at No. 7, and U2 were voted as the unsexy No. 6 (though we thought "With Or Without You" was pretty romantic). Making the top five were Coldplay, Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and, topping the list, Nickelback. Next time you're trying to impress that special someone, you may want to think twice before putting on "Photograph." Of course, all these acts are happy being unsexy all the way to the bank.

In more sexy (or unsexy) Bieber news, could the young popstar be the father to a baby, baby, baby, oh? According to a report, a woman named Mariah Yeater is claiming she met the teenage heartthrob backstage at a concert in Los Angeles last October, and that now Bieber is the father of her 3-month-old baby boy. The young stud reportedly asked the woman to go "somewhere private" and, well, you can put two and two together and figure out what allegedly happened next. But Bieber's camp has been quick to deny these claims, saying, "While we haven't yet seen the lawsuit, it's sad that someone would fabricate malicious, defamatory, and demonstrably false claims. We will vigorously pursue all available legal remedies to defend and protect Justin against these allegations." And on Nov. 2 Bieber tweeted, "all the rumors…the gossip…Im gonna focus on the positives…the music." While the lawyers will certainly get to the bottom of this, it looks like they may be the least of Yeater's fears as Justin's beliebers are coming out in droves to set the record straight. One fan tweeted, "Mariah Yeater, u're going down. Bieber's lawyers will knock u down. Beliebers will tear u apart and u will end up with ur baby in jail."

At any given time around the world, there are groups who, for valid reasons or not, draw the ire of authorities. For example, insurgents in Afghanistan continue to disrupt U.S. efforts in the region while Occupy Oakland protestors are getting tear-gassed by local police. According to the FBI, there's another dissident group to add to the list: fans of make-up metal band Insane Clown Posse. Known as Juggalos, the fans have been classified as a gang in the FBI's 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment for exhibiting gang-like behavior and criminal activity in more than 20 states, though they are only formally a gang in Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, and Utah. According to Billboard.biz, The fans are best known for their Gathering of the Juggalos, an annual four-day festival of concerts, wrestling matches, autograph sessions and artist seminars that takes place every August at Cave-In Rock, Ill. It seems honorary Juggalo Charlie Sheen made an appearance at the most recent gathering, where he was both cheered and pelted with garbage while on stage, though rock stars from Mars apparently didn't make the FBI gang list this year.

Throughout November, those who have the capability of growing a mustache in a month's time are foregoing the laborious ritual of shaving as part of the Movember movement, a project raising awareness for men's health issues, specifically prostate cancer. Alternative rock group Cake are getting in on the cause with their mustache-growing contest, which invites fans to submit photos of their 'staches via the band's page on the Movember website. The submissions will be judged in three categories: The Largest, The Most Nostalgic and The Most Dangerous. One grand prize winner will be chosen from each category and will receive two concert tickets to see the band perform in Atlanta on New Year's Eve, including airfare and hotel accommodations, admission to a private soundcheck, a meet-and-greet with the band, and an onstage introduction. The contest ends Dec. 3 and the hairy winners will be announced on Dec. 6. "It's time for the mustache to become a force for positive change," commented frontman John McCrea. We're hoping this will inspire Cake to write a new song and call it "Short Beard/Long Mustache."

The Week In Music: Headbangers' Ball

Exit hipsters. Enter headbangers. After hordes of music fans depart from the Coachella music festival on April 17, a heavy metal and thrash contingent will be making its way to Indio, Calif., for the one-day Big 4 festival, taking place April 23 at the Empire Polo Club. The lineup will feature metal torchbearers Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax in a reprise of the quartet's brief European tour last year. "We actually enjoy each others' company and are comfortable celebrating the past while continuing our path into the future," Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich told Rolling Stone magazine. "It's cool. Who would have known that anybody actually still gives a s***?" But with tickets priced at $99, will the fans give enough of a s***? Pollstar Editor-In-Chief Gary Bongiovanni said the "heavy metal Coachella" is likely to attract generations of fans and generate positive revenue. "They don't have to do Coachella-size numbers to make this work," added Bongiovanni.

Now a little bit older, and perhaps a bit wiser, it seems Prince and Madonna are ready to put aside past differences and be friends again. At the exalted purple one's concert at Madison Square Garden in New York on Jan. 18, the Material Girl herself was among the spectators expressing themselves. After spotting Madge in the crowd, the artist formerly known as a symbol gave her a shout-out from stage, kidding, "I know I'm expensive!" Of course, the pop stars have plenty of history between them. In 1985 they briefly dated, and subsequently teamed for the track "Love Song," which was featured on Madonna's 1989 album Like A Prayer. Unfortunately, there were no diamonds and pearls in the cards for the couple. They've since exchanged a few jabs in the media, with Madonna calling Prince a "little troll" and criticizing him for not eating during a dinner date. "He was just sipping tea, very daintily. I have this theory about people who don't eat. They annoy me." In 2007 Prince countered, "I got more hits than Madonna's got kids."

Iowa foodies will now have the chance to sample one of rap's newest delicacies — fried chicken from Public Enemy's Flavor Flav. The rapper's chicken joint, aptly titled Flav's Fried Chicken, opened Monday in Clinton, Iowa. Flav says this is the first in a chain of restaurants stemming from the 99 cent wings he served at Las Vegas' Mama Cimino. "My chicken aint' no joke," said Flav. And according to the chef, restaurant customers will be served an extra treat when they find him behind the counter. "You're going to find me in here working," said Flav. "You're going to catch me in here seasoning up my chicken, flouring up my chicken, frying up my chicken. And not only that, but coming out here and serving my chicken to people." Could this be the first case of public enemy turned public culinary? And will those wings still be 99 cents?

Canadian Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy has become the first known human to graduate with a degree in Beatles. Zahalan-Kennedy became the first to complete a master's degree at Liverpool Hope University based on the Beatles' impact on pop culture. Technically, she has an MA in The Beatles, Popular Music and Society, which means there's now an expert to help explain the meaning of "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey." Of course, with a practical degree like this, it also means she can pretty much write her own ticket when it comes to the job market, perhaps as a meter maid.

Rocker Jon Bon Jovi has decided to give love a good name, and it's Halle. The recently named member of the White House Council for Community Solutions has signed on as part of the ensemble cast of New Year's Eve, a sequel to 2010's Valentine's Day. In an artistic stretch, Bon Jovi will play a rocker who is the love interest of Halle Berry. The all-star cast will also include Robert De Niro, Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, Sofía Vergara, Zac Efron, Jessica Biel, and Michelle Pfeiffer, among others. Bon Jovi is no stranger to mixing his music day job with the silver screen, having starred in films such as Moonlight And Valentino, U-571 and The Leading Man, among others.

Ever wonder how much it costs TWIM favorite Justin Bieber to keep his mop trimmed? Bieber fans of the world, brace yourselves. According to his stylist Vanessa Price, the Bieb spends a cool $750 on a haircut every few weeks while on tour. That's more than some of us spend on food every couple of months. If you find yourself mourning over the fact that you'll never be able to afford the famous mop-top 'do, sigh no more. Fans can get their own trendy look at hair salon Supercuts, where "The Bieber" starts at $14. With the $736 you'll have left over, you can get yourself the full Bieber look, complete with hoodie, nail polish and a Bieber doll for good measure.

Been looking for a Lady Gaga-inspired meat dress, like the one she wore at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, for your Barbie doll? Of course you have. And now your hopes have been fulfilled. London College of Fashion student Anna Chong has created miniature versions of Gaga's wildest outfits for California-based toy line Harumika's pint-sized dress mannequins. The little fashion line is currently on display at the London Toy Fair, and features nine of Gaga's best-known outfits, including the Armani orbit dress she wore at last year's GRAMMY Awards, the rubber dress and lobster hat she wore in London after the final night of her Monster Ball tour, an American flag two-piece from the video for "Telephone," and the bubble dress from the cover of Rolling Stone. No word yet on whether Chong plans to fashion companion clothes for a miniature Alejandro.

In a nod to the collaborative spirit of music and social networking, Rolling Stone has published its list of the top 50 tweeters in music. AC/DC made the list at No. 45 for their band history-type tweets: "@AC_DC: December 31, 1975 Bon Scott incites audience to storm stage in protest after electricity cut off during AC/DC's NYE performance in Adelaide." Fellow rocker Slash made the cut at No. 34, mainly for his use of his signature self-created emoticon: Iii|; ). (We think that's supposed to resemble his signature top hat.) Country songstress Taylor Swift was also on the list at No. 25, mainly because of her obsession with the number 13. Lil Wayne came in at No. 19 for such thought-proving tweets as "love is selfless" and "treasures are meant to be found." Rounding out the top five were indie songstress Best Coast, Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, the Black Keys' Patrick Carney, the Roots' Questlove, and the king of Twitter himself, Kanye West.

The Week In Music: Britney Spears And Adam Lambert Are Sexy And They Know It

What does it take to become musically rich and famous? While talent and determination (and connections) can all come into play, what about an artist's sexy quotient? While SoundScan doesn't measure an artist's level of attractiveness, and Billboard certainly doesn't have a chart for it, music fans still have their opinions, and they've let those opinions be heard in a recent Billboardpoll tallying music's sexiest men and women of the year. Let's start with the ladies. Katy Perry and her fireworks made the cut at No. 5, behind the only girl in the world Rihanna (No. 4), pop diva Beyoncé (No. 3)and the Fame Monster Lady Gaga (No. 2). Coming in at No. 1 was Britney Spears, who is now clearly a woman, no longer a girl. Making the cut at No. 5 in the men's category was Tokio Hotel frontman Bill Kaulitz, followed by Enrique Iglesias at No. 4 (yes Enrique, we like it), Justin Bieber at No. 3, and Maroon 5's Adam Levine at No. 2. And reigning supreme as the sexiest man in music was Adam Lambert. It looks like Lambert has gone from pop idol to sex idol in true rock star fashion.

Does he believe rap is this influential, or is he really just promoting his movie? Rapper/actor Ice-T said during a visit to the "Today" show to promote his film Something From Nothing: The Art Of Rap that hip-hop was responsible for Barack Obama's successful presidential bid. "If it wasn't for rap, white people wouldn't have been so open to vote for somebody like Barack Obama," Ice-T said. "…Hip-hop is what brought us together." He may have a point, but if rap brought Obama to the oval office, it could be argued that classic R&B might help keep him there.

This is a true story of a Lord of the Rings turned Golden God. Lord Of The Rings actor Christopher Lee, who recently turned 90, is celebrating his birthday milestone by putting out his not first, but second heavy metal album. Due later this year, Charlemagne: The Omens Of Death is his follow-up to 2010's Charlemagne: By The Swords And The Coss and is, according to Lee, “100 percent heavy metal.” “I'm not screaming or anything like that, but it is definitely 100 percent heavy metal,” he told BBC Radio 5's “Up All Night.” Lee's entry into the metal world was honored at the 2010 Golden Gods Awards when he received the Spirit of the Hammer award. “I became fascinated by [heavy metal because], in terms of the history of music, it's fairly recent really. And if it's properly done and you can understand the story and you can understand what the people are singing and you have the right bands and the right singers, I think it's rather exciting.” Details on whether Lee's metal music will serve as the soundtrack to the next Lord Of The Rings film were not revealed.

Hello Goodbye. Beatlemania, a Beatles museum that opened in 2009 in Hamburg, Germany, will close by the end of June due to a lack of visitors. Hamburg was the town where a young Beatles honed their skills in the early '60s prior to their assault on England and the rest of the world, and though that story is well known, Hamburg probably still can't compete with the group's original home in Liverpool, England, as the birthplace of true Bealtemania. The Beatles' history in Hamburg dates back approximately 50 years, so we guess the failure of the museum may answer the question whether the city will still love the Beatles when the group's first appearance there turns 64.

To quote their own song, Metallica's James Hetfield may become a "Hero Of The Day." The band's lead singer is helping Virginia state police hunt for a man suspected of murdering 20-year-old Morgan Harrington after she left a Metallica concert in 2009. "Remember, any information — no matter how small you might think it is — could be that crucial piece investigators need to help solve the case," Hetfield says in a video posted on YouTube and an FBI website dedicated to the case. Metallica has added $50,000 to a $100,000 reward offered by the Jefferson County Crime Stoppers for information leading to the suspect's capture. And when he's captured, we hope he gets … And Justice For All.

The Recording Academy's GRAMMY Recordings has partnered with Jive Records to release the 2011 GRAMMY Nominees album, the 17th edition of the best-selling series, which highlights artists and songs nominated for the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards. The 19-song collection was released on Jan. 25 with a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the album benefiting the MusiCares Foundation and the GRAMMY Foundation — two charitable organizations established by The Recording Academy.

"The exceptional mix of recordings contained on this preeminent compilation provides an incredible playlist from some of this year's remarkable and talented GRAMMY nominees," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "With 19 diverse selections, the nominees album offers quality recordings for all music fans. We are proud and excited to, for the first time, collaborate with Jive Records on this project and we look forward to another successful chart-topping GRAMMY album."

"The 2011 GRAMMY Nominees album showcases some of the year's best artists and songs from all genres and we're honored to partner with The Recording Academy to release this compilation of the signature songs from the past year," said Ivan Gavin, COO of the RCA/Jive Label Group. "In addition to offering great music, the collection also gives music fans the opportunity to support MusiCares and the GRAMMY Foundation — two charities that benefit the artistic community."

The album includes songs from many of the most widely recognized GRAMMY categories with 19 tracks representing nominees for Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals. The album is made possible by a special arrangement with all of the major music distribution companies and rotates labels from year to year.

The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held Sunday, Feb. 13 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, and will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). For breaking news and exclusive content, visit The Academy's social networks on Twitter and Facebook, and on YouTube.

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